Tag printing machine



i, 1931- G. w-. HENRY, JR 1,814,923

TAG PRINTING MACHINE Filed June 6. 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet l July 14, 1931[ G. W. HENRY, JR

' TAG PRINTING MACHINE Filed June 6. 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 July 14, 1931. e. w. H ENRYJJR 4 ,3

TAG PRINTING MACHINE I Filed June 6. 1929 4 Sheets-Shqet 5 jfwenfal July 14, 1931. v G. w. HENRY, JR I 1,814,923 I TAG PRINTING MACHINE Filed June 6. 1929 QSheets-Sheet 4 Zgd.

@WW J A; aw 8/ dd Patented July 14, 1931 UNITE ,(STATES GEORGE W. HENRY, OF PHILADELPHIA; PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO SOABAR COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, "PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYL- VANIA I TAG 'PBINTING MACHINE -App1ication filed June ,6, 1929. Serial No. 368,783.

This invention relates to tag-printing ,machines.and, more particularly, to an apparatus of this character which may be em ployed in printing .both' gummed labels and ,5 pip'or string tagsfedtothe anachine from a ;r '1.

' A-nrimporta-nt object of the invention is to produce in a, construction of this character an arrangementsuch that the feeding mecha- ,10 nism-is simplified and the number of elements thereinreduced toa point rendering mechan ical difliculties extremely unlikely.

Aiurther object-of the invention is the provision in apparatus of this character of a ,15 structure permittingseveral different sizes of gummed labels or :pin or string tags to be printed inthe samemachine.

A further, obj ectof the inventionis the pro vision of a novel :feeding and tensioning v20 mech-anism for use inapparatus of this character, inSuring theproper positioning of the tags with relation to thechase and platen of printing mechanism :andznianipula-ting the tags through engagement withtheinotched 2 corners with which such;tagsa-resusually ,pro-

vided. I I

A still further object of, the invention is to provide a novel ,and" improved ,chase mounting providing adj ustment of the chase 3o flier use withdiilerent gtaglsjand permitting regulation of theth-row of the: chase and, aelcordingly the extent with which the type engages the tags.

These and other objects, I attain by the 35 construction shown in the accompanying drawings wherein, for the purpose of illustration, I have shownja preferred embodiment of my invention and wherein ljF-i-g l is aplan view'oia tag-printingvma- 4- chine constructed n accordance with my invention; r

:Fig. 2 .is a side elevation of the printing .and feeding mechanism;

Fig.3-is;a sectionon:fline 3-3 of ,Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a section onlineifi i of Fig. 1; .Fig. "5 is a sectiononline .5-5 of Fig. 1;

- Fig. 6 isa fragmentary deta-i l view of the gum tag feeding mechanism illustrating the M reispes tien 19. the anawl element-themed to permit operation of the feede'rwithout actual feeding of the tags.

Referring, now more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 10 indicates a suitable support upon which are arranged feeding and printing mechanism generally designated at 11, magazlnes 12 and 13 adapted tor the reception of gum tags and pin .or

string tickets, respectively, and a motor 14: for driving the feeding and printing mechaism.

The feeding and printing mechanism includes a base 15 supported in spaced relation to the support by standards 16. This base supports a platen 17 which is vertically disposed and overlie-s the base in spaced relation thereto. Projecting upwardly fromthebase is a rib 18 whichaligns with the face of the platen and is adapted to act as asupport for pin or string tickets Pr fed thereto. The platen 17 is mounted in'a supporting'bracket v19 which has wings 20 and 21 extending to downwardly at its free end by a-spring 25 operating between the arm and the bracket and serves to constantly forcethe tag string passing therethrough downwardly against the upper surface of the rib 18. (Jo-acting withthe wing20 and confronting the same in spaced relation thereto is a guide block 26 which serves to prevent escapeof the'lower edges of the tags from the upper surface of .the rib.

The wing 21is notched or recessed, as at .27, for the reception of a combined wear and shear plate 28','the 'faceof which is coplanar with the tag-receiving face of the wing. This wear plate has its outer edge, or that edge remote from the platen :17, formed as one element of a pair of shears, the second elev ment of which comprises a 'blade 2-9 1 pivoted to-the outer upper lend .:of the 1 Wing, as indied to the pulley 49, as indicated at has at its free end a bracket element 54 gages in one thereof when the blade extends inwardly and downwardly from the face of wing 21 and in the other thereof when the blade extends outwardly and downwardly from this face. The rear 'edgeofthe blade is notched, as indicated at and the outer faceof'the blade has mounted thereon a projecting roller 36, for purposes hereinafter to appear. 'Platen 17, which may conveniently consist of a block of rubber, is mounted in a re cess formed in the'front face ofthe bracket .19 and the upper surface of this bracket is formed with a slot 37, through which a removable shim-piece 'tween'the inner face of the platen and the bracket 19, adjusting the face of the platen outwardly.

38 may be inserted. be-

Vertically journaled in the is shaft 39 having secured thereto a beveled gear 40 and'an arm 41. The arm 41 projects beneath the wing 21 and is provided with a verticallyextending post 42 which extends upwardly in fairly close relation to the inner face of the plate 28. Car'ied by this arm are a plurallty of feeding dogs 43, these dogs being )rovide-d'in anv desired number and-beim u -J paced through spacers 44 in such manner that theywill align with. the notches of different sized pin or string tags P which arev to be employed in'the machine. Springs 45 constautlyurge these dogs into engagement with the plate 28. Arm extension '41 a of the free end of the arm 41 is longitudinally slotted, as indies-t a at 46, this slot being provided. with a plurality'of longitudinaliyjspaced enlargements 4?.

I Ashaft 48 is vertically journaled through the base andbeneath the has secured thereto a pully 49 connected by a belt 50 to a pulley 51 upon the armature shaft or motor 14. A pitman 52 is'eccentrically connectwhich, through stop and lock nuts designated at 55, may besecured in longitudinally-adj usted positions upon the pitman proper and tons serve to effectually vary the length of the pit-man. One arm of this bracket has a lug 56 interchangeably ,engageable in the enlargements of the groove 46 and maintained against displacement therefrom throughua -nut5. mounted upon'a stud 58 carried by the lu It ill be obvious that as the pulley 49 is rotated, the arm 41will be oscillated and 'sion of which may be adjusted, as more cle that the oscillation which is imparted to this arm may be regulated to vary the length of the stroke. Theactual position of the stroke may be also determined by an adjustment of the bracket 54. This latter feature is important in that it admits of regulation of the posi ion of the edges of'th-e tags and, accordingly, permits these tags to be accurately cut by theblade 29. The tags which are fed fromthe magazine 13 are placed between the guide block 26 and wing 21 with the spring-pressed arm 23 bearing upon the upper surface thereof and must be manually passed overthe face of the platen to a point where they may be engaged by the dogs 43; Arm 23 n0t only serves to insure proper alignment of the tags vertically but also serves to provide a resistance to longitudinal movement thereof, insuring against buckling or dis alacement of the ta when o--' M v c sitioned against the face of the platen. 'lhe PINS or strings of tags fed 1n tlns manner are extended in the slot 59 provided between the lower ends of wlngs 20, 21 and the platen bracket and the upper surface of the rib 18;

Immediately beneath the platen, the edge of base 15, which i'sdefined at this point by 'the rib 18, is notched for the reception of a guiding born 60 secured to the base by any suitable means such as a screw, The lower end of this horn extends beneath the base and is formed with a thickened portion 61 through which slots 62 of different widths are formed for the passage of gummed tags of different sizes. The outer face of the horn 'is smooth and rounded so that tags may slide readily thereover with the exception of the upper Vertically-directed portion thereof, whichisprovided with a pair of parallel grooves 63 extending vertically thereon.

Supported from the horn through an arm 64 is a roller 65 over which the labels pass to the proper opening62, the'horn and platen. The enlargement 61 has mounted therein a stud 66 upon which is mounted a pressure finger 67, the freeterminal of which abuts the face of the vertically-extending portion of the horn and is yieldably maintained in engagement therewith by spring 68, the ten- :ly shown in Fi 4. 53, and b In the under surface of the base, a horizontal bearing 69 is provided, upon which is mounted a rock shaft 70, one end of'which has a gear 71 meshing with the gear 40 and the opposite'end of which has secured there to an arm 72. Pi'votally supported upon the end of ths arm, which operates adjacent the inner face of horn 60 and tensioning finger 67, IS a feeding do'g'73, the base of which is centrally grooved, as at 74, to provide clearance for the tensioning finger and to form spaced'gripping fingers 75 adapted to extend through notches B in the edges of a tag strip and project into the vertical grooves 63 .ef the h raGO; A- pri gZ e ne@t ng-t arnnand f-eeding dog 73, jc enstantly urgesthe .uPDerend ofithis ,d into finement with horn-60, v i c -When ,g-u-mtags are to be printed, they ,are

-fed ,from the magazine l2 over roller '65 through a slot 62 and about the face of horn .,60-;to the platen l7. Theytensioning finger may be depressed by inserting'fingersatthe loop or bend thereof and forcing this bend downwardly, so that this strip -,may readily pass to apoi'nt where i-t may be engagedby the fingersia-nd drawn upwardly sufiiciently "to insure engagement of the dog [73;there- -with. {It will be obvious that-whenpulley21:9

is rotated and arm llaccordingly oscillated,

Ill-l s oscillation through the gears l0 and 7,1 willcause shaft to rock, resulting in oscillation of-arm 72 andthelconse uent verticalreciprocation of the-feedingpawl 7 3,so

that the tags are fed vertieallyzover face of platen 17.

fI-twill be ,notedlthat by :the construction illustrated, the feedingrmechanisms will not many way interfere with oneanothenand a single actuating;mechanis1n serves to operatc both the feeders. iments, provided .;by bracket 54 and .by the Thus, ,the adj ustconnection oi the ,pitman 52 to the arm lla,

arm/and the chase support 77.

.serve for adjustment of both feedingmechansms, resulting 1n agmaterlal simplification oif;the-structure; x

Pivoted for horizontal swinging move- ,ment upon the base in substantial align- ,ment with the w1ng 21 '1 s a chase support 7?, having .a vertically extending guide .78 forthe reception of the chase 79. The chase 79' has associated stl'lQI'GWltl'lyd'IGtQtEblQ stop element 180 which overhangs the "upper edge of one wall of theguide and serves to limit downward movement .of the chase therein. T his rotatable e'lement80ds' notched in its under surface,;as at 81 ,and,by.align- .ing this notch with the guide edge, a corzre'sponding lowering ofthe chase may be had, so that {this .chasemaybeadisposed .in either p of two vertically spacedi posiztions; Means for-inking the type carried ,by the ;chase comprise an inking ;pad 82 having I an angular arm 83 which vis \pivot- ,ed to the base 15. A link 84; connects this The chase support 77 connected ito oranl 85 pr0- Ni-ded onthe shaft 48=byalink '89 which is adjustable as to length, so that the ;.pr,eissure with which the type of the chase engages .of the supporteng-ages against the roller 36 c,

.canried bytheblade when this blade is-positioned to incline inwardly and downwardly and forces the blade before it to provide {the necessary shearing action. The downward swinging movement of :the blade positions this against the inner 'face 01" the hook ;90 w-ith 1 the result that, r as the chase support ;recedes from wing 21 the blade is again :swung ;to its outwardlyan-d downwardly inclin-ing position .final movement of theiblade gto this position being accomplished by the pressure ofball33 against the walls ofthe socket 3,4, sogth attheblade is swung'to a position where it fully clearslthe hookand there is gnozdanger of impropercontact therewith.

{In use of the apparatus, the gum tags or pin orrstring tags-are placed in position to properly engage with thei-feeding mechanism thereof. The machine m-aythen beactu-ated by hand to advance thetagsvandproper adj ustinents made ,until the tag properly aligns with the platen and with the :knife, if pin or string tags are beingied. Afterthese adjust- ;ments have beensecured,the;motor 1A may zbe started and operation continued until the desired number of tags have-been printed.

.lnordergthat it will -;not be necessary to thread the gum tags from magazine 12 throug'lnthe several guides each time that the machine is to be used for printing-1910b tags, the spring 'ltiwhichconnects thearm 72 and ail-he feeding pawl 73 is so connected thereto thatithe feeding pawl maybe swungabout its pivot '73a upon the outer end of this nrluto positionswherethe spring will either Qact to ,forcethefifeeding pawl into engage- -ment with the support over which the tags arejbeing fed orhold it'in a downwardlyand :outwardly inclining position as indicated in Fig. 16. Inotherwords, the pins 91'and 92 to which the ends- 0f this spring c are connected are shifted from one side ,to the other of the :pivot ;7 3 a. I

in order that the relative pos-itionsrof arms 72and 41 may be relatively adjusted theshaft ':39 upon whichzarm ;l1- and gear ,40 are mounted is in ;;the .form of a pillarshaft having a lnain body portion 93-uponathe ,upperend of which there is a;head94 and upon the lower .endof which there gisareducedextension 95. Between theshoulder,:produced at the junctionofthe' mainbodyand the extension 96, ..&nd a nut ,96 mounteduponthe lower endof the shaft arm 41 and gear 40 are clamped; and ;it will be obvious that by loosening this =nut ;;arm 72 may ibe-shifted with relation to arm 4 1. This permits afurther adjustment of 1e relative positions of l the pawl element ,73 ,geud ,paivlssi insurin g th sP. ssihi typfa curate alignment of'both sets of tags with the platen.

supports over which the tag strips fed to the platen in different directions pass, a reciproeating pawl mechanism adapted to operate over each support and engaging the strip passing thereover to advance the same, and a common operating means for said pawl mechanisms adjustable to simultaneously vary the positions of the strokes thereof.

2. In a tag-printing mechanism, a platen, a support over which the tag strip fed to the platen passes, a reciprocating pawl mecha nism adapted to operate over the support and engaging the strip to advance the same, and operating means for said pawl mechanism adjustable to vary the length and position of the stroke thereof.

3. In tag-printing mechanism, a platen, a support over which a tag strip fed to the platen passes, a reciprocating pawl mechanism adapted to operate over this support and engaging the strip to advance the same, a rotatable member, an oscillating arm with which said pawl mechanism is operatively connected, and a pitman adjustable as to length connecting said rotatable member and said oscillating arm.

4. In tag-printing mechanism, a platen, a support over which a tag strip fed to the platen passes, a reciprocating pawl mechanism adapted to operate over this supper and engaging the'strip to advance the same,

a rotatable member, an oscillating arm with which said pawl mechanism is operatively' connected, and a, pitman adjustable as to length connecting said rotatable member and said oscillating arm, the connection between the-pitmanand arm being adjustable longitudinally of the arm. 7

5. In tag-printing mechanism, a-platen, a support over which a tag strip fed 'to the platen passes, a reciprocating pawl mechanismadapted to operate over this support and engaging the strip to advancethe same, a. rotatable member, an oscillating arm from which said pawl mechanism is directly supported, and a pitman adjustable as to length connecting said rotatable member and said oscillating arm, the connection between the pitman and arm beingadjustable longitudinally of the arm. n I I 6. In tagprinting mechanism, a platen, a support over which a tag strip fed to the platen passes, a reciprocating pawl mecha nism adapted to operate over the support and engaging the strip toadvance the same,

a rotatable member, an oscillatable arm operatively connected to the pawl mechanism to reciprocate the same, and a pitman connecting saidoscillating arm and rotatable member and adjustably connected to one thereof to permit variation of the extent through which the arm is oscillated.

7. In tag-printing mechanism, a platen, a support over which a tag strip fed to the platen passes, a reciprocating pawl mechanism adapted to operate over the support and engaging the strip to advance the same, a rotatable member, an oscillatable arm operatively connected to the pawl mechanism to reciprocate the same, a pitman connecting said oscillating arm and rotatable member and adjustably connected to one thereof to permit variation of the extent through which the arm isoscillated, said pawl mechanism including spaced pawl elements, and a rod rigidly supported from the arm and having its axis parallel to the sup port upon which said pawls are mounted.

8. In tag-orinting mechanism, a platen, a pair of supports arranged at adjacent sides of said platen, pawl mechanism cooperating with each support and adapted to engage a tag strip passed over the associated support and advance the same to thereby shift the tags over the platen, and a common operating mechanism for said pawl mechanisms adjustable to simultaneously vary the lengths of the strokes thereof.

9. In tag-printing mechanism, a platen, a pair of supports arranged at adjacent sides of said platen, pawl mechanism cooperating with each support and adapted to engage a tag strip passed over the associated support and advance the same to thereby shift the tags over the platen, and a common operating mechanism for said pawl mechanisms adjustable to simultaneously vary the position of the strokes thereof.

10. In tag-printing mechanism, a platen, a pair ofsupports arranged at adjacent sides of said platen, pawl mechanism cooperating with each support and adapted to engage a tag strip passed over the associated support and advance the same to'thereby shift the tags overthe platen, and a common operating mechanism for said pawl mechanisms adjustable to simultaneously vary the lengths and positions of the strokes thereof.

11. Intag-printing mechanism, a platen, a pair of supports arranged at adjacent sides of said platen, pawl mechanism cooperating with each support and adapted to engage a tag strip passed over the associated support and advance the same to thereby shift the tags over the platen, and a common operating mechanism for said pawl mechanisms adjustable to simultaneously vary the lengths of the strokes thereof comprising an oscillating arm operatively connected toeach of said pawl mechanisms, a rotating element,

' arm operatively connected to each of said and a pitman connecting said rotating element and oscillating arm and adjustable as to length.

12. In tagprinting mechanism, a platen, a pair of supports arranged at adjacent sides of each platen, pawl mechanism cooperating with each support and adapted to engage a tag strip passed over the associated support and advance the same to thereby shift the tags over the platen, a common operating mechanism for said pawl mechanisms adjustable to simultaneously vary the lengths of the strokes thereof, comprising an oscillating pawl mechanisms, a rotating element, and a pitman connecting said rotating element and oscillating arm and adjustable as to length, the connection between said pitman and arm being adjustable longitudinally of the arm.

13. In tag-printing mechanism, a platen, a pair of supports arranged at adjacent sides of of said platen, pawl mechanism cooperating with each support and adapted to engage a tag strip passed over the associated support and advance the same to thereby shift the tags over the platen, and a common operating mechanism for said pawl mechanisms adj ustable to simultaneously vary the lengths of the strokes thereof including an oscillating arm,

a rotatable member, and a pitman connecting the rotatable member and oscillating arm and adjustable longitudinally of the arm.

14. In tag-printing mechanism, a platen,'a pair of supports arranged at adjacent sides of said platen, pawl mechanism cooperating with eachsupport and adapted to engage a tag strip passed over the associated support and advance the same to thereby shift the tags over the plates, and a common operating mechanism for said pawl mechanisms adjustable to simultaneously vary the lengths of the strokes thereofincluding an oscillatable arm upon which one of said pawl mechanisms is directly supported and to which the other of p the pawl mechanisms is operatively connected.

15. In tag-printing mechanism, a platen, feeding means for shifting a tag strip thereacross in one direction, a second feeding means for shifting a tag strip thereacross in a different direction, connections between said feeding means whereby operation of either of said feeding means causes operation of the other thereof, an operating means, and connections between said operating means and one of said feeding means adjustable to vary the distance through which the tag strip is shifted at each operation of said feeding means.

16. In a pin or string tag printing machine, a platen, a seat for the edge of the tag strip fed to the platen, said seat extending adjacent the platen and to opposite sides thereof, means at one side of the platen for yieldably forcing the strip into engagement with said seat and means at the opposite side of the tion to the platen, a chase, a mounting therer for, means for moving the chase into and out of engagement with the platen and means for adjusting the chase. with relation to the platen.

18. In tag-printing mechanism, a platen, feeding means for shifting a tag strip thereacross in one direction, a second feeding means for shifting a tag strip thereacross in a different direction, connections between said feed ing means whereby operation of either of said feeding means causes operation of the other thereof, and means for permitting adjustment of the relative positions of said feeding means.

19. In tag-printing mechanism, a platen, feeding means for shifting a tag strip thereacross in one direction, a second feeding means for shifting a tag strip thereacross in a different direction, connections between said feeding means whereby operation of either of said'feeding means causes operation of the other thereof, one of said feeding means comprising a pawl, a support over which the pawl operates a member for reciprocating the pawl over the support, the connection between said member and pawl permitting movement of the pawl toward and away from said support and a single spring connecting said member and pawl for urging said pawl toward the support or for holding said pawl out of engagement therewith.

GEORGE w. HENRY, JR. 

